Week 5 is on the way! It’s time to make some trades happen people! Again all the players I’m going to talk about here I look at within a “buy low” framework.

Tier I

Drew Brees20 (10+10) – He’s had two starts in a row where he’s looked like Trent Dilfer which is ironic since the Saints D looked like the 2000 Ravens this past week. He has gone from “untouchable” to a player you might be able to get for the right price. Ideally a 2 for 1 like Cutler + decent skill position player for Brees. A lot of people would do that type of deal even though they shouldn’t.

Andre Johnson 19 (10+9) – Other than the one huge week he has been disappointing. His owner might be impatient with his inconsistency. There’s only one way to find out!

Larry Fitzgerald 19 (10+9) – ESPN is declaring Fitz to be a bust this year relative to his value. This is like Christmas in October for non-owners. I would definitely point this out in your trade offers for him. I have a friend who got him for Ryan Grant. May the looting begin!

Jason Witten 19 (10+9) – Jason Garret needs to grow a set. He keeps listening to the media, trying to be cute, etc. One manifestation of said trickery was leaving Witten at the line to block on goal line passing plays. I think the Cowboys are going to stop trying to get so fancy and feed 82 the ball like they should be. I’m also starting a rumor that he’s trying to change his name to “ochodos.”

Brandon Marshall 18 (10+8) – How ridiculously good was that play on Sunday? Word on the street is Marshall has been a model citizen since returning from his suspension/getting his contract extension. Apparently he’s working hard and toeing the line. Look I know he’s totally insane but so was T.O. in his heyday. He is a top 5 receiver in the NFL in terms of ability, flat out.

Tier II

Rashard Mendenhall (9+8) – There’s no secrets about this player. With Willie Parker dinged up, yet again it, appears Mendenhall may have done enough to put a vice on the starting job in Pittsburgh. Most owners won’t part with him but there will be a few looking to “sell high” on this obvious breakout candidate.

Leon Washington 16 (9+7) – He is getting enough points right now to be a serviceable start in all but the most shallow of leagues. If/when Thomas Jones gets hurt he will see an upgrade in work load, making him a big time contributor.

Ahmad Bradshaw 15 (8+7) Ran the ball very well again on Sunday. Definitely a great investment because you get solid production now with the potential for huge digits down the road.

Jerome Harrison 15 (8+7) – He played extremely well for a second game in a row and the starting job could be his even if Lewis comes back. James Davis is now out for the season.

Beanie Wells 15 (8+7) – He hasn’t delivered near the hype he was getting preseason. Owners are getting impatient that he hasn’t been able to take the job from Tim Hightower. It may not be as expensive as you think to land this great stasher.

Tier III

Mohamed Massoquoi 15 (8+7) – I debated putting him in tier II. Dude got 13 targets on Sunday, caught a ton of balls for a lot of yards. Braylon Edwards continues to play terrible and get no attention in that offense plus he may be getting in some legal trouble. I’m going to own Massoquoi everywhere I can.

Donnie Avery 14 (7+7) – Not a lot of production this past Sunday but their Offense got shut down completely. He’s a number one receiver what else can I say?

Antonio Bryant 14 (7+7) – This guys stock has risen and fallen more than any player in all of Fantasy Football over the past calendar year. He’s been on waivers in a lot of leagues and after a decent game there might be reason to own him.

Ryan Moats 14 (7+7) – A skilled scatback who has been around the league but doesn’t have a lot of miles on him. Steve Slaton has struggled somewhat for Houston. Moats got 15 carries for 56 yards, prompting compliments from Gary Kubiak. This was probably the most under the radar performance by a potential Sleeper this week. He looks like an excellent stash right now.

Mewelde Moore 13 (7+6) – If you have room he’s a great stash in case Willie Parker’s turf toe doesn’t improve. Moore sees a ton of action in the passing game and gets to run some.

Shonn Greene 13 (8+5) – I really think you’re going to start to see him carry the ball a little bit. If Thomas Jones gets hurt Washington will be the man on passing downs and some running plays but they drafted Green to make him the feature runner. A good stash for the 2nd half of the season. These are the guys who win playoff games for you.

i am about to pull the trigger on a deal where i get roddy white and ryan grant, and i give up ray rice and steve smith (nyg). white’s gotten looks and catches (at least 4 catches each game), he just hasn’t broken anything open yet.

who is the waiver wire D of the week? DEN and SF have been very kind to me the past 2 weeks. i’m leaning WASH but really either WASH or CAR could be/should be a good play. MIA is probably the only other op[tion i’d consider from our wire.

I like Wells a lot if he can win back that job. Does your league have its playoffs in weeks 15 and 16? Take a look at the Cards’ matchups for those weeks — DET and STL. It doesn’t get tastier than that.

In fact, what do y’all think of this trade I’m thinking about proposing to a buddy? I give up DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy for Steven Jackson and Beanie Wells. It’s certainly possible he wouldn’t accept it, but that seems like a pretty fair offer, no?

@ThePoonTycoon: Check if Dallas was dropped in your league after their sackless start to the season. They have KC next week. Otherwise, I still like Denver…they faced some bad offenses early, but they looked legit against Dallas.

@hacienda: Beanie. Bell is no lock to get carries if PT is healthy, and Norwood can’t seem to find time on the field without getting dinged up.

@Josh: Honestly, if I were the Steven Jackson owner, I wouldn’t consider it…if news broke that Westbrook was done for the year, then yes. Worth a shot though, it’s not horrible.

@mgeoffriau: I’d keep Hester at this point, as long as the injury isn’t serious–he’s starting to click with Cutler. And, despite the bye, I think Finley has huge potential, especially if Rodgers continues to get poor pass protection.

@hacienda: Unfortunately, no other drop candidates on my roster…so if I’m going to get either Massequoi or Finley, I’d have to drop Hester. (Next drops would be Harrison, Braylon, McFadden, Lynch….not gonna happen)

I have Brees on bye this week so I preemptively picked up Garrard before he blew up last Sunday. Just got an offer of Leon Washington & Devery Henderson for Garrard. Henderson is useless but I do like Leon and I need RB depth. I could either ask for Hasselbeck (risk if he doesn’t play) or just grab a WW guy (Collins vs Indy, Sanchez @ Miami, Seneca vs Jax if Hasselbeck doesn’t play, Anderson @ Buf, Delhomme vs Wash).

@Matt B: ug,tough calls there,jackson and lynch will soon be splitting carries and if lynch can show some flash he will regain a 65 to 75 percent workload and you never know what addai will do with peyton throwing so goodi like lynch for the long haul addai 2nd

Gonzo or Vernon this week? That’s my TE pickle..
Then I have to choose 2 rbs out of these 5 in a no PPR league: J.Harrison, Tashard Choice, S. Jax, Hightower, or Slaton.
WRs are thin: Housh, TO, Burleson….really don’t want to play two SEA wide-outs when they’ve looked shaky..so considering dropping Burleson or Choice to pick up another WR.

@hacienda: Don’t like it. I’m not sure San Fran is really an upgrade (Dallas is better than they’ve shown, and SF doesn’t get STL every week). Flacco has been great, but it’s also his second year…I wouldn’t count him as an upgrade over Rodgers just yet, and I’m not even convinced he’s that much better than Palmer.

Given that McFadden is out for a few weeks at least, I wouldn’t necessarily be looking to trade your RB depth.

@Doc: What’s your take on Sidney Rice? I know he is slow, but he has good hands and Favre seems to trust him a little, and I keep forgetting he is only 23. With bye weeks in effect, should I take him or Massoqui?

@Denys: Well I picked up Garrard in the first place to play him this week with Brees on bye, but the thing is the other guy wouldn’t want him after this week because he has Rivers on bye. I chose to possibly sacrifice this week (I have Brees, PT Cruiser, LT, and Jennings on bye) for the long term…

I have the same QB dilemma, needing to pick up a FA guy for this week. Same options as you plus Hill @ Atl and Edwards @ Cle. Right now I’m leaning towards Anderson or Wallace, though of course Wallace might not be the starter.

@stumanji: @Josh: i’m rolling the dice on cassel this week as my bye week WW QB. dallas D is statistically one of the worst passing Ds in the league, and at least cassel doesn’t look like he’ll kill you with a bunch of INTs like a d anderson might. someone else scooped hill before i could. anderson is probably my #2 choice of WW QBs for the week though.

@Doc: At the bottom of my roster I have Ginn Jr., an extra kicker – Bironas ( I have been using Folk), Crayton (No pts for return yardage only return TD in my league). I really need to acquire a WR on waivers as well as a TE since my Shockey has a bye…

At TE I will put a waiver in for Health Miller as he is the best available facing Detroit next week but if I cant I will get Heap then Lewis in that order, right?

For WR I rank my wire like this, Massaquoi, N Washington, S Rice but do I drop Crayton and/or Ginn Jr. for the 1 or 2 options above…not looking for a matchup next week as I have R Williams, Housh & L Fitz starting…

at RB, my Forte has a bye so I could use one in flex or a WR if better for nxt week…options include Harrison, Wells, Moore, Bell (previously owned), M Bush, D Ward, C Taylor, Greene. I own Jones & Mendenhall to start nxt week. Do I pick any of these guys up for long-term value or nxt week, I would need to use one of the WR’s (Ginn or Crayton) to drop or McCoy but I want to stash him…

Hey Doc I just got offered his Anquan Boldin and Brent Celek for my Knowshon Moreno. I’m weak at WR with Roddy White, Ochocinco and Eddie Royal currently starting for me with Antonio Bryant and Josh Morgan on my bench. My other RBs are Forte, Chris Johnson, Ahmad Bradshaw, McFadden and Mewelde Moore. I feel like I have to pull this trigger. Agreed?

For my lineup next week pick 3 out of 5, .5 ppr: Hightower, Lynch, Harvin, Harrison, Garcon Btw, I usually play fantasy football just to hold me over til baseball, but this site has sparked my interest this year. Great job!

We’re already a quarterway into the season. But unlike fantasy baseball leagues, where there’s no playoff and stats are cumulative, teams that find themselves at the bottom of the standings still have a shot at the title. Once you’re in the playoffs, you have a fighting chance. So don’t give up and do something senseless like go with an empty slot.

Fantasy question: Forte has a bye this week, so what two RBs do I start? I have a flex spot too but I think I’ll save that for Steve Smith (CAR) @Was (Other three WRs are Welker, Walter, and Cotchery so I’m expecting a decent week from all 4)

Gonzo or Vernon this week? That’s my TE pickle..
Then I have to choose 2 rbs out of these 5 in a no PPR league: J.Harrison, Tashard Choice, S. Jax, Hightower, or Slaton.
WRs are thin: Housh, TO, Burleson….really don’t want to play two SEA wide-outs when they’ve looked shaky..so considering dropping Burleson or Choice to pick up another WR.

So I’m using the waivers this week to pick up my defense for week 6 (since that’s when my defense has it’s bye).

The two best possibilities looked like New England against Tennessee or Jacksonville against St. Louis. I’m leaning on going with New England’s ability to hold Tennessee’s 2009 offense, but playing any average defense against St. Louis also looks pretty good.

I want to complement your site, you all are doing a great job. I just swooped up J. Harrison and wondering if I should start him or Westbrook for week 5. Also, I got S. Smith (car) cheap on a trade and it is either him or P. Harvin any thoughts?